Researcher ORCID Identifier

0009-0005-0437-7600

Graduation Year

2025

Date of Submission

1-2026

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Government

Reader 1

Peter Uvin

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Ⓒ 2026 Ethan Miskelly Paul

Abstract

This thesis uses an interdisciplinary study of urban tourism development to examine a number of points of interest with regard to urban tourism governance. It explores what motivates cities to plan development projects intended to attract tourism, what distinguishes the city as ‘place to visit’ from ‘place to live’ from the perspective of a resident, and if tourism is a viable strategy for promoting sustainable development and resident wellbeing in an urban environment.

These questions are ever more relevant as tourism itself comes to represent a major driver of the global economy. Beginning with a review of the relevant literature on the relationship between tourism, sustainable development and the urban environment, I will examine and contrast the current prestige theory of tourism development - espoused by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and tourist boards around the world - with the critical perspectives of a number of scholars which dissent from the mainstream view and challenge its underlying assumptions. From this broad basis in theory, the body of the thesis will assess two case study urban development projects intended to promote tourism to Seoul, Republic of Korea by the municipal government - Cheonggyecheon Stream Restoration and Bukchon Hanok Village - based on their economic and sociological impact on the adjacent city resident communities and the influence of the aforementioned theoretical frameworks on their planning and execution. To conclude, I will argue to what extent tourism development has been a viable strategy for promoting sustainable development and resident wellbeing in the urban context.

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